Argentine-born pianist/composer
Guillermo Klein has influences that range from the orchestral palette of
Gil Evans to the folk melodies of his native land. He has mightily transcended those impulses to create his own music, which is unlike any other in the jazz or world music realms. Using a large ensemble, his writing allows loose structures to coexist with multi-layered, dense arrays of colors, many flying by quickly, to give a feeling of swirling kineticism only found in music by
Evans,
Carla Bley, or more symphonic 20th century works. In short, some brilliant music is being made here, not so much by the pianist himself on his main instrument, but through the compositions as interpreted by his "little" big band. There are four vocal tracks, the most interesting -- perhaps bizarre -- being the opener, "Diario de Alina Reyes," with
Luciana Souza's lilting,
Flora Purim-like voice and
Klein played backwards on tape amidst dancing horns. "De Sábados Prá Dominguinhos," written by
Hermeto Pascoal, has
Souza and soprano saxophonist
Chris Cheek darting here and there while the stark, shining trumpet of
Diego Urcola lights the way. The seven purely instrumental tracks are as challenging as any new music offerings.
Cheek's sorrow-filled to joyful soprano on "Viva" packs unbridled emotionalism. The ebb and flow of the ambiguously defined "Juana" really command attention, everything swirling around a one-note piano chord root anchored by tenor saxophonist
Bill McHenry's sparse solo. "No Name Tune" is an urgent, churning number with minimal piano, stop-start antics, and the demanding trumpet of
Juan Cruz De Urquiza.
Jeff Ballard's "Child's Play" is anything but childlike, a dense polymelodic harmonic/rhythmic exercise.
Bley's influence is most extant on the dramatic lost-love power ballad "El Camino" (with
Cheek's piquant tenor lead), the dancing "De Sabados," and
Richard Nant's "Chacarrichard" (with ultra-complex piano, peppered polyrhythms, and the expressive solo of up-and-coming tenor saxophonist
Tony Malaby). The finale, "El Tiempo Entero," has chiming piano contrasting with a slightly funky-in-its-own-way ensemble. The instrumental music of
Klein, enhanced by his excellent soloists, is nothing short of stunning, and realistically hard to put into words except one: great. While the vocals may fall short of the other sounds, this remains one of the most engaging and intriguing recordings of recent memory, and a solid candidate for world music CD of the year. Highly recommended. ~ Michael G. Nastos